Israelis couldn’t possibly care less about mixed gender prayer. But for liberal American Jews, it plays the same role as “al-Aqsa is in danger” does for Arabs, inciting fury against Israel and its leadership.

When I was a kid they hadn't invented "cultural appropriation" yet. Instead we were allowed to take anything from any culture, since all humanity was one big family, and imitating someone was a high sign of respect. Since then copying something from another culture has supposedly become an alleged crime against humanity, somehow.